Press Photos/Katie BarnesBarbara LaPonsie, left, talks Wednesday with Kathy Bartz, a cashier at D'Amico's Food Market on Plainfield Avenue NW. LaPonsie lives about two minutes away from the neighborhood grocery store and says it's very convenient. "Meijer's is too big, there isn't any personal service there. I also like to give my business to local businesses," said LaPonsie.

GRAND RAPIDS -- State lawmakers have created a tax break to entice grocers to expand or relocate in areas where low-income residents don't have ready access to full-service groceries and healthy foods.

These places, dubbed "food deserts," are scattered throughout the city.

In them, some shoppers settle for convenience stores that don't offer fresh fruits and vegetables or sell them at a high price.

In Grand Rapids, some West Side neighborhoods as well as Heritage Hill, Creston and those served by the South East Community Association could fit the state's definition, which specifically targets lower-income neighborhoods.

The distribution of full-service grocery stores within Grand Rapids city limits shows areas with no nearby groceries. Under new state law, those areas could be deemed "underserved" areas.

With the closing of Rite Aid in Heritage Hill and the loss of Duthler's Family Foods at Michigan Street and Fuller Avenue NE, 40-year-old Maria Zache said she is having a harder time finding a place to shop.

"Everybody's unhappy about it," Zache said, noting she now must drive three to 10 miles to get to grocery stores.

Zache saves the longer treks to places like the Knapp's Corner Meijer for special occasions to "get everything all in one trip."

But rising food and gas prices make that a rarity, she added.

Customers at Parkside Marketplace, 1153 W. Fulton St., had a food desert scare when the former owner decided to retire with no buyers in sight. Last month, childhood friends and neighborhood residents Pat Fischer and Guy Chilton took over the store.

Limited shopping options for urban residents is why state lawmakers aimed to revitalize low-income neighborhoods by encouraging grocers to expand in or relocate to underserved areas. Those are areas with a low or moderate income level and "below average supermarket density."

Stores would be eligible for a tax break for up to 10 years on building improvements.

"Grocers are challenged in this society where we aren't making the healthiest food choices," said Rachel Hood, executive director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. "There's a big percentage of families that depend on overprocessed food and fast food in order to feed themselves."

Reducing local costs, promoting Michigan's economy through agriculture and helping people eat healthier is what the bill is about, said the sponsor, state Sen. Mark Jansen, R-Gaines Township. The law took effect in mid-July.

"A grocery store has a lot of people traveling through it," Jansen said. "It becomes one of the anchors to the area to get back on its feet, to redevelop and to keep families in that area."

The bill is geared toward local grocers by limiting the size of the stores. Louis P. Vescio, vice chairman of the Michigan Food and Beverage Association in Warren, said eliminating food deserts is difficult because larger chains avoid low-income areas.

"The chains sometimes, right or wrong, are a little hesitant to locate where they believe it's a high crime area, where there's a lot of shoplifting," Vescio said. "They look more geographically where that store can be located, where enough land is available and they depend on that store to draw from a 20- to 30-mile radius."

Fred Spica, owner of D'Amico's Food Market, stocks the deli area on Wednesday. D'Amico's has been at Plainfield for about 30 years and is a five-generation family-run grocery store.

Fred Spica's D'Amico's Food Market at 1747 Plainfield Ave. NE is a neighborhood store that could qualify under the bill. But he says while the bill is a good idea, he predicts not many small businesses will take advantage of it.

"With the way the economy is right now, I don't think there are too many businesses expanding," Spica said. "There's not as many small, independent (stores). They're all gone. It's sad and hard to compete."